NEWS: [Mumbai Coastal Road Project] Don’t Recover Area of Sea it is not Needed for Renovation Work: Supreme Court Pursues Map Allocating Development Works

On Monday, the Supreme Court told the BMC not to intrude upon more land than is required on its continuing reclamation coastal road project work in the middle of Worli sea face and the Worli end of the sea-link.

The Supreme Court on Monday instructed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) not to recover any more of the stretch of the Sea than what is necessary for the construction of the coastal road project to link the Marine Drive region in the south to suburban Borivali in the north.

A bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde remarked that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation must not overextend the Supreme Court order. The bench stressed that there should not be more renovation of the Sea than which is necessary for the coastal road project.

The Chief Justice said the court is apt to see the map where the officers would view out the areas they are getting to touch & those which they are not going to touch. And instructed them that they are not getting any beyond this (the bench told the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). The top court demanded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to file an affidavit describing the land it is obtaining, land required only for the road all along with a plan of the region in 2 weeks.

Environmentalists have resisted the project stating no EIA was taken. The statement from the top court came while hearing a plea requesting a stay on the continuing reclamation work by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the coastal road project.

In February, the Conservation Action Trust (CAT) & Shweta Wagh, the originator of Collective for Spatial Alternatives, had commended the Supreme Court to break the ongoing reclamation work of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) coastal road project to attach the Marine Drive part in the south to suburban Borivali in the north.

The applicants argued before a bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai & Surya Kant that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was breaching the top court order by regaining more land than needed for the Rs 14,000 cr. Coastal road project. On December 17, the top court had settled the Bombay High Court verdict to overturn the coastal road zone (CRZ) approvals granted to this project.

The council, on behalf of the petitioners resisting the project, argued instead of 22 hectares of coastal land, 75 hectares have been recovered so far. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta & senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Maharashtra govt. & its authorities had strongly resisted this contention by citing minimum required land for the project was being reclaimed. Rohatgi had contended that could he stand in the Sea & construct a road. He said the top court that minimum facilities were necessary for the building of the coastal road.

The court demanded the parties to get on record via an affidavit whether 95-hectare land was necessary for reclamation for construction of the coastal road project. The court will listen to the matter after two weeks. The court also asked the respective authorities to investigate the loss of livelihood of the local fishermen because of construction activities.

The top court in its December directive had restricted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation from taking out any other development work, as a substitute of the coastal road project, till further orders.

The Bombay High Court in July previous year had overturned the coastal road zone (CRZ) approvals granted to the coastal road project, stating that there was a severe lacuna, i.e., a gap in the decision-making procedure & lack of appropriate scientific study.